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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jacqline Barnes


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GAMBLING AND WAR


RISK, REWARD, AND CHANCE IN INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT

Scholars and members of the public alike


often refer to war as a gamble, but how and
why this is the case and the resemblance
between war and games of chance are rarely
plumbed as interesting and carefully as they
are by Justin Conrad. Whether you are
preparing to play poker or to study a war,
you can learn a lot from Gambling and
War.
Robert Jervis, author of How Statesmen
Think

In this innovative and exciting study, Justin


Conrad explores the intersection of strategy
and psychology in war through analogy with
the game of poker. With careful scholarship
and well-selected examples, Conrad shows
that international politics is the most
dangerous game humans play.
Stephen Benedict Dyson, author of
Other Worldly Politics

In 1914, as Germany mobilized for war, Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg remarked
to the countrys legislators, If the iron dice must roll, then God help us. War has often been
likened to a game of dice or a lottery. But just as frequently, war has been compared to a game of
pure strategy like chess. In reality, the business of negotiating with adversaries, fighting wars,
and ending wars is far more complicated than a game of chess, where each player can see all the
pieces on the board and knows the possible moves that they can make. War is far more chaotic
and unpredictable. And yet, international bargaining and international conflict is not a simple
dice game either, where human beings have no control over the outcome.
Justin Conrad bets that war is more like a game of poker. Gambling and War: Risk, Reward, and
Chance in International Conflict brings readers a war college course taught at a Las Vegas
casino. To succeed in poker, it is not enough to simply anticipate the actions of other players and
try to outsmart them. A successful player must also understand and appreciate the role of
randomness. Additionally, players must confront the reality that all human beings are prone to
errors in judgment, which cause them to make suboptimal choices under many circumstances.
Taken together, these challenges make poker a fascinating and highly unpredictable game, much
like the challenges of international conflicts. Any comprehensive analysis of why wars occur and
how they are fought must take into account a variety of factors including strategy, human error,
and dumb luck.

Gambling and War applies lessons learned from poker, blackjack, roulette, and other games of
chance to the study of international conflict. Drawing on scholarly insights from a variety of
fields, including probability, statistics, political science, psychology, and economics, Conrad
offers thoughts on how we can better manage and prevent international conflict, the costliest
game of all.

JUSTIN CONRAD, PhD, is associate professor of political science at theUniversity of North


Carolina at Charlotte. Dr. Conrad has published studies on international conflict and terrorism in
leading academic journals. He is also an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve and a terrible poker
player.

GAMBLING AND WAR


Risk, Reward, and Chance in International Conflict
By Justin Conrad
Publication date: 15 October 2017

ISBN:978-1-68247-219-4| Hardcover eBook | list price: $29.95


Military | Strategy
6 x 9 | 256 pages | 12 b/w figures

Naval Institute Press

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